Kelly Herkert-Cannady shares her experience with Over the Rainbow School, offering insights into its bilingual IB curriculum and expat school challenges.
Mom Life in Luxembourg is a new parenting podcast dedicated to helping English speaking parents in Luxembourg. From crèches to crémant, we'll cover everything you need to know about living your best life in the Grand Duchy.
Now that we are nearing the time for international school's Open Days and application deadlines, I'll focus a lot on schools here in Luxembourg. Specifically, the English language options. Choosing the right school for your kid is one of the most important decisions you can make as an expat.
It not only shapes their education which will influence their adult life and career, but also their culture, sense of belonging, and well-being (or lack thereof!). It is my goal this season to interview a parent from one of each of the English language options in the country. Be sure to tune into them all so you can compare and contrast which school might be right for your family!
In this episode, I sit down with Kelly Herkert-Cannady to hear about her experiences with Over the Rainbow School. Kelly is an American, mom of 2 and works for Amazon. She moved here with her family about two years ago. Interestingly, she chose to send her younger child to Over the Rainbow and her older one to the International School of Luxembourg, aka ISL. To hear why, you'll have to listen to the episode!
If you're just learning about Over the Rainbow, also known as OTR, here are the basics: Over The Rainbow is a bilingual (English and French) international private school located in the city centre. They accept children from early years (pre-school) through high school/secondary school.
They follow the IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum for the secondary school, and the middle school follows the MYP (Middle Years Program) program, which is basically preparing them for the IB in secondary school. It’s a very small school with a family vibe, and that’s one of the main reasons why Kelly picked it for her son.
Kelly shares her journey of choosing Over the Rainbow and offers a firsthand look at what worked, what didn’t, and what surprised her the most.
From the challenge of securing a spot to the realities of immersion in a French-speaking homeroom, Kelly’s story is an honest take on expat life, education choices, and how Luxembourg’s unique schooling system shaped her family's experience.
My hope for this episode is that you'll get more out of this interview than what you could find on google or an online forum. It’s a candid one on one conversation about what’s working and what's not with the school. Obviously this is just one parent’s opinion, so it’s all subjective, but I do hope you’ll find it helpful.
If you’re considering Over the Rainbow for your kids in the future, or are curious about what it’s really like to go there - you’ll definitely want to tune in to this episode!
Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. You can reach me via email: momlife@rtltoday.lu or on social media @momlifeinluxembourg.
